Pastor’s Letter & January 23 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & January 23 Bulletin

21 Jan 2022 | Posted by: chadmin

The January 23 bulletin is available online. 

Dear friend,

You may have noticed over the last few weeks we have been refinishing some of the woodwork in church, and that a few pews in the last row of church were restored. Over the last few years, we’ve had a lot of local discussions about the need to restore aspects of our church. We are blessed with a beautiful church and our desire is to keep it that way for a long time. The cleaning process during the Covid pandemic certainly pointed out the need for pew restoration. In an effort to maintain much of the wood in church, it was sealed some 30 years ago with a material that is now flaking off. Under the leadership of our Finance Council, Rothan Millwork Company has restored much of the trim wood in our church. This process involves sanding to the bare wood, staining and sealing the wood for protection. During the Covid shutdown, the sacristy (the room where the priest vests for Mass), as well as many of the doorframes, were restored. Over the last few weeks, Rothan employees have completed work on the doors, frames and trim at the main entrance of church, as well as the cry room and the back hallway behind the sanctuary. There are a few doorframes by the altar server sacristy and the bathrooms at the front left of church to complete. With this renewal, we have pursued the possibility of renewing all of the pews in church and replacing the worn out church carpet. We hope to complete this project in the first half of 2022.

This church renewal has also given us the opportunity to reflect on the church sanctuary. While it looks fine from a distance, the ceramic tile in the sanctuary floor is deteriorated. The current Altar and Ambo (lectern) are not original or matching to the rest of the church. For this reason, we have begun work with Daprato Rigali Studios in Chicago to design a new Altar, Ambo, flooring, and renewal of the back sanctuary wall, where the main crucifix hangs. The church was built before the Second Vatican Council, thus the main presiding Altar is not original. Our hope is to design a sanctuary the flows with the design of our church, and will stand the test of time. In working on these interior renovations, the Finance Council is pleased to announce some lead gifts, along with good financial responsibility, that allow us to move forward on some of these projects. We will, however, need to request the support of the parish community to complete the church sanctuary renewal. Our plan is to launch a giving campaign toward this project, as we finish designs for the sanctuary. The goal and hope is to renew our church to a beauty that maintains and supports its original construction, in order to serve future generations. If you have any questions about this effort or consider supporting this project at this time, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Have a great week.

God bless,

Father David